Scout Rifles may not be the meta in Destiny 2’s Crucible, but that certainly doesn’t mean they’re useless; in fact, most people may not be expecting to fight against them, and may not exactly have the best plan to combat them. Time-to-kill wise, Scout Rifles certainly are not the best weapons in the game, but it’s very easy to always hit the best time-to-kill possible because of how easy they are to use, especially with Scout Rifles with high stability.
Let’s take a look at some of the stats to keep an eye out on Scout Rifles, and some of the best possible perks.
10 RATE OF FIRE
There are two extremes on the rate of fire aspect of Scout Rifles; there’s the high rate of fire (ROF) variety, which does low damage per shot but is the easiest to control. These are the ones that are the hardest to maximize the time-to-kill (TTK) on, simply because you have to hit more shots in order to hit that highest possible TTK, but they’re easier to keep control of, so it’s a bit of a compromise.
Then there are the lower ROF Scout Rifles. These deal more damage per shot, but have a much larger gap between each shot, and usually bounce quite a bit more with each shot, though because you don’t follow up with shots as quickly, it isn’t very punishing.
9 IMPACT
Impact usually relates directly to the ROF of the Scout Rifle; the higher the ROF, the lower the impact. One of the most important differences between these two Scout Rifles is the flinch they create, and the higher impact Scout Rifles generally create more flinch in the enemy’s that you hit. That flinch is going to make it difficult for them to land all of their shots on you, so if you’re able to maximize your TTK, you’re usually going to come out alive.
8 STABILITY
Though there aren’t many Scout Rifles that bounce too much, stability is still a super important stat for the weapon, if nothing else because it makes it easier to keep your target lined up instead of having to re-acquire them for each shot.
This is going to go a long way in helping you maximize your TTK, so if you’re having trouble hitting all of your shots in a row on the enemy, consider either switching to a stability perk or using a Scout Rifle that has access to one.
7 FULL AUTO
Full Auto is going to be a very nice perk for a Scout Rifle, especially for those using a controller. You want to be able to focus entirely on keeping your target in your sights instead of having to constantly pull the trigger with the same hand you use to aim, so being able to just hold the trigger down is going to be pretty helpful.
6 TRIPLE TAP
This isn’t always going to be of massive benefit, but every once in a while, when you find yourself in a fight against two or three enemies at the same time, Triple Tap is going to be really nice. With this perk, landing three rapid precision hits returns one round to the mag. At most, divide whatever your magazine size is by 3 (rounded down) and add whatever number that is to the magazine; that’s how much the bonus COULD be. For those times you’re fighting a lot of enemies and/or didn’t have time to reload, Triple Tap can actually come in pretty nice.
5 TIMED PAYLOAD
As mentioned before, causing enough flinch to throw your target off is going to be very important to winning gunfights with a Scout Rifle, and Timed Payload is going to help a lot in that regard. Timed Payload creates a small explosion about a half-second after you hit the target, which will create another separate flinch from what your initial shot created. This can really throw your target off; combine that with some nice, squirrely movement on your part, and you’ve likely won that gunfight.
4 HIGH CALIBER ROUNDS
Adding to that last point, High Caliber Rounds are going to increase the flinch your gun does, as well. They definitely aren’t going to have the same, awkward effect that Timed Payload has on the target, but High Caliber Rounds can be nice if your weapon doesn’t have Timed Payload, or if there’s another perk you’d rather use other than it.
3 LEGENDARY
There’s a lot of variation when it comes to which Legendary Scout Rifle people think is the best for Crucible, and it really comes down to which one suits you the best. That said, these two are definitely decent options to start with:
Randy’s Throwing Knife - This weapon will always come with the same roll: either Rapid Hit or Snapshot, and either Zen Moment or Kill Clip. This is just one of those weapons that feels pretty good to use, especially with two possible stability mods.
Talon’s Of The Eagle - One of the really slow-firing Scout Rifles, Talon’s Of The Eagle hits HARD, you just absolutely need to hit all of your shots with it. If you miss once, you’re likely going to be put down by the enemy.
2 EXOTIC
There are a few really solid Exotic Scout Rifles you can pick up and use in Crucible:
Mida Multi-Tool - Definitely the easiest to use, Mida Multi-Tool has a variety of benefits, from a fast fire rate, the default Moving Target perk, the basic Third Eye perk, and the super high stability.
Jade Rabbit - Jade Rabbit slow, but it hits like a truck. Heck, maybe even a couple of trucks. If you get that exotic perk upgraded, this weapon has one of the nuttiest TTK’s in the game.
Symmetry - While the exotic benefit of this Scout Rifle is nigh-on useless in Crucible, firing it like a default Scout Rifle actually isn’t too bad. It’s super stable, has a high rate of fire and full auto, and is very easy to use.
1 PLAYSTYLE
Using Scout Rifles in Crucible requires a very specific playstyle and a really skilled hand. These weapons can be very punishing, and they can be out-damaged by a lot of other stuff in the game if you aren’t in your absolutely perfect range. But, if you’re good at manipulating scenarios to your benefit, there aren’t a lot of Guardians that are going to be able to keep up.
NEXT: Destiny 2: 10 Tips For Using The Striker Subclass In Crucible
